In this episode, I sit down with Bill Plotkin, founder of Animas Valley Institute. Over the past 40 years, Bill has developed intricate, nature-based models of human development and education that challenge dominant psychological frameworks and invite us into a maturation process rooted in wholeness, wildness, and the more-than-human world.
We explore their three major maps of a person’s “soul-centric journey” and cover topics including:
- Why most modern humans remain developmentally stuck in early adolescence
- The 8-stage Soulcentric Developmental Wheel and how it mirrors nature’s rhythms
- The four cardinal facets of the psyche, and the inner protectors that distort them
- Whether other species undergo their own versions of soul initiation
- Why the path to a mature culture will not come from the strategic mind, but from descent, mystery, and imagination
- This is a deep-dive into a body of work that’s revolutionizing the lives of thousands of people, and how to think about adulthood, education, and healthy human cultures.
Episode Website Link
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Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes.
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd
Photo Credit: Midjourney
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